Thursday, December 27, 2012

Abortions in Military to be Paid by All Americans

The National Defense Authorization Act includes the addition of abortion coverage to military health insurance in cases of rape or incest. The Act passed in the House on a vote of 315-107, and in the Senate 81-14. President Obama is expected to sign it into law immediately.Also read the related story:Supreme Court OKs Taxes for Abortion - ObamaCare

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-N.H.) amendment to the defense bill lifts a decades-long ban on abortion coverage for military rape victims. Since 1981, military women have not had the same level of health coverage that civilian employees, Medicaid recipients, and even federal prisoners receive from their government-issued insurance plans. High-profile supporters of the amendment include former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Senate unanimously passed the amendment in early December, but the House version of the defense bill did not include a similar amendment. A bipartisan conference committee that included Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) agreed on Tuesday to include the amendment in the final version of the bill approved by both chambers.

"After three decades of a policy that discriminated against women who put their lives on the line for us, I am so proud that we will finally begin to provide the coverage our servicewomen deserve,” Shaheen said on Dec. 21. “We have heard from so many who have said the same thing: this is an issue of equity. Women in the military should have the same health coverage as the civilians they protect."

Since 1976 Congress has annually attached an amendment to all funding bills banning federal spending on abortions except when the mother’s life was threatened by the pregnancy, named after its initial proponent, Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois. During the Clinton administration, Congressional Democrats forced the rape and incest exemptions into the Hyde amendments and these have remained in place. But they were never added to military appropriation bills until now . . .

Among supporters of the bill was a leading pro-life senator, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. Some pro-life observers were concerned about her support of the bill’s inclusion of funding for military abortions, particularly in light of her previous 100% rating from National Right to Life Committee, and 0% from both Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Ayotte’s compromise on this pro-life issue came in the wake of a call from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to fellow Republicans to play down their beliefs about abortion and life issues.